“Earlier today, President Obama telephoned the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee Bob Corker, to talk to him about the commitments that Iran had made [on the nuclear agreements],” Earnest said on Wednesday.
Corker, however, has been a staunch opponent of Obama reaching any final agreements with Iran without Congressional approval.
In February 2015, US Senator Bob Corker introduced the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act that would require US President Barack Obama to submit the final Iran nuclear agreement for a congressional approval.
“They [Corker and Obama] have obvious differences, but the president made the case to him once again that the president believes that this principled approach to diplomacy is the best way for us to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Earnest said.
Earnest stressed that the conversation between Senator Corker and President Obama was not, however, “an opportunity for the two men to negotiate terms for any sort of legislation, but rather just an opportunity for the president to speak directly to the chairman to underscore his view about the opportunity that now exists.”
The framework agreement reached by Iran and the international negotiators will be followed by a comprehensive technical agreement set to be reached by June 30, 2015.
Corker said last Thursday that his Iran legislation had bipartisan support and was confident there would be a strong vote for his bill when it is taken up in Committee on April 14.
